Robert Pattinson and Joaquin Phoenix Won’t Get To Clash As Batman & Joker

Joker director Todd Phillips says Joaquin Phoenix and Robert Pattinson won’t be crossing paths as Joker and Batman in a film.

Phoenix’s Joker has been vaunted as one of the best portrayal of the DC villain and one might think that he’d meet up with the newest version of the Bat at some point. But Phillips says it isn’t going to happen, at least not anytime soon.

Joker has been on display at various film festivals over the last few months and has won the Venice International Film Festival’s Golden Lion Award. With the Toronto Film Festival going on this week, it’s been a huge part of the festivities therein.

Variety caught up with Phillips and asked whether fans will get to see Phoenix clash with Pattinson in the near future. His answer was as succinct as it gets.

“Oddly, in the states, comic books are our Shakespeare it seems, and you can do many many versions of “Hamlet,” he added. “There will be many more jokers, I’m sure, in the future.”

On the face of it, this might come as a surprise. But it should be noted that the events in Joker takes place outside of the DC Universe and was never meant to tie into any DC Extended Universe content. The director told a crowd that he doesn’t imagine the film will connect to anything in the future while participating in a TIFF Q&A on Monday.

Joker marks Warner Bros. and DC Films’ move in the direction of standalone movies as opposed to being part of a bigger universe where everything is linked. Titles such as Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Shazam! have shown that standalone pieces that connect to a larger universe could be successful but Joker is one of those that will take another route. According to reports, Matt Reeves’ The Batman, starring Pattinson, will be as standalone as possible too.

Phillips seems sure that this film is a one-time deal for Phoenix and that he won’t be joining Pattinson in any venture anytime soon.

Joker will hit theaters on October 4 this year. Maybe minds will change based on the reaction from fans.